


Father's Day

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Father's Day, M/M, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Vision is a lost baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 14:05:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4182678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony was completely foreign to the concept called father's day, after Howard had explained to him how much of a waste of time it was around the time Tony was still trying. But then Vision appeared, and Tony suddenly had a flower in his face, and things were bound to be progressing in a different way.</p><p>Or,</p><p>In which Tony Stark's a lost puppy that doesn't know how much he needs a family, and Vision's there to make him realise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starspangledsprocket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starspangledsprocket/gifts).



Tony hadn’t even been fully aware of what he was doing when Bruce and he had gone and created Vision. It was a rash choice made quickly and almost a little desperately during battle, not something either of them had thought or planned about. Vision just had been a necessity and an opportunity, and Tony, lost in the utter glee of finding out JARVIS’ code hadn’t been smashed to pieces, had probably gone off to merry la-la land and seen that next to the very short list of ways to defeat Ultron. They had accomplished that too, with the help of Vision just as he had predicted (although he had never believed that they’d make it out in one piece) but that was it. Vision wasn’t anything special, except for the fact that he had JARVIS’ code inside him.

 

JARVIS had been so many things to Tony, he had only started to realize after he lost him. Unlike Pepper or Rhodey or anyone else who tried and managed to love him to a certain degree, JARVIS hadn’t had a breaking point, like Pepper had had after all the Extremis business going down, or the painful knowledge that if ever a time came Rhodey would have to choose between him and the country, he would never be that choice. JARVIS had been a constant, always there and stable. He had been Tony’s fortress that he liked to hide inside of and escape from reality, he had been ~~Tony’s friend that he had built for himself~~ Tony’s only real ally until the Avengers came along (he still couldn’t quite believe it, oh god, he had actual _human_ allies).

 

With that being said, it would be a blatant lie to say that he didn’t have a few regrets about creating Vision. Because he could’ve saved JARVIS, while his code was still in one piece and not inside a synthetic body, before he had become something that wasn’t quite JARVIS but not exactly that different. Tony felt like he had betrayed him after all the support JARVIS had offered him through all his years, and while he knew that it had been either saving JARVIS or saving the whole world, he still couldn’t keep himself from creating his various scenarios in his head and ~~blaming~~ questioning himself. He didn’t exactly like Vision that much because of that reason, because while he had created him, he had thrown away _his_ JARVIS, and now he was confused and didn’t know if he had done the right thing. Vision reminded him of that, and Tony would keep away from the guy as much as possible.

 

Steve, god bless his soul, had probably noticed. While he had made it obvious that he hated Tony locking himself up in his workshop in the four glorious months they had been together, he didn’t even try to get Tony out when Vision was around. He would bring Tony his coffee and sandwich in the morning, come and sit on his chair (and it was officially Steve’s chair because Tony had written ‘Dorito’ on the back of the seat with a permanent marker) and start sketching around noon, and bring him his and Bruce’s blissfully tasty cooking after dinner.

 

It was one of those times again. He knew that Vision was hanging around for whatever purpose, because Steve had brought him his coffee and hadn’t tried to drag him off. This time though, he didn’t wait for Steve to drop by near noon, because he was so freaking hungry and it was Barton’s chocolate chip cookie day. He tried, he really did, but Steve was late and he couldn’t see the harm in it. He was a grown man; he could stand seeing a human shaped watermelon walking around in his tower.

 

His hopes sank down when he arrived in the kitchen, only to find a note scribbled in Clint’s messy handwriting on the fridge. It looked like he had been in a hurry when he wrote it down, because even Barton couldn’t be as bad as this at handling a pencil properly, so Tony knew that he wouldn’t get any cookies.

 

_Gonna spend a little quality time with kids and Laura today. Nat’s with me._

_PS. If you’re reading this, Stark, go make your fucking cookies yourself and stop bitching._

 

Tony absolutely hated Clint, oh yes he did.

 

Exhaling loudly, he decided to pour himself a mug of coffee, just because he didn’t want to have come all that way for nothing. Oddly, Steve or Thor weren’t in the common floor, which they almost always were if they didn’t have anything personal to do, but Tony didn’t pay it much attention. He considered texting Steve to let him know he was in the kitchen and that he should wait up if he was in the workshop (and that Tony was very ready for a making out session) but he decided against it because Steve almost never carried his phone around. He grumpily picked up Steve’s thoroughly read newspaper, because he saw no harm in reading about how glorious his team was and how they were the earth’s mightiest heroes. Let a man have his fun.

 

 He was about to take off when he heard that deep, almost echoing voice, with a very posh and heavy English accent, and he might’ve openly flinched when he did.

 

 ~~JARVIS’~~ Vision’s voice.

 

“Mr. Stark?”

 

He coughed and didn’t look beck at his face immediately, because god knew he didn’t need this, but he gradually did, holding his mug of coffee close to his face as if that would protect him.

 

“Vision.”

 

Vision looked at him with those eyes of his that Tony never seemed to understand, taking a few steps to come closer to him. Why was he here again? Vision never dropped by unless he had strictly business purposes, and those times he would just take care of things with Nat or Steve and leave, not hang around the kitchen trying to make light conversation with him.

 

“I- uh I wasn’t expecting you to be around.”

 

He was fiddling with something he held at his back, which Tony of course wasn’t curious about, looking at the ground as he did so.

 

“I mean- you never are.”

 

Tony didn’t know why, but he actually felt a bit hurt by that. What was there to be hurt about? He avoided people all the time, even Steve, why would avoiding Vision burden him at all? He was getting softer as he grew older, that must be why. Yeah.

 

“Mr. Stark…you do know what day it is?”

 

Tony scowled. Was it anyone’s birthday? No, ~~JARVIS would have reminded him if it were~~ Steve would have reminded him beforehand if it were, it wasn’t Steve and his anniversary, the new Starkpad wasn’t going to be launched until July… what was it?

 

Ooh, Vision meant the cookie day!

 

“It’s cookie day, yeah. That’s why I’m here.”

 

It might’ve just been his imagination, but he could’ve sworn that Vision’s previously hopeful expression turned into a frown, and he withdrew a bit, shoulders slumped.

 

“So you don’t know after all…”

 

Tony was sure that Steve wasn’t the type to put alcohol in his coffee and that he wasn’t dreaming. That definitely was sadness in his voice. And Tony, oh god, he _recognized_ that kind of sadness. Every time Howard had shouted at him, every time he had been too busy, every time he forgot Tony’s birthday, every time he wasn’t enough for his dad…

 

“It’s father’s day, Mr. Stark.”

 

Tony gulped down the rising confusion ~~and fear~~ in his throat. No, _no_ , Vision hadn’t just called him-

 

Vision held a flower to Tony’s face in a very awkward position, like he was a statue and physically incapable of relaxing his muscles, and Tony would’ve chuckled at that if not for the fact that this shit was going down and _someone was calling him their father._

 

Don’t get him wrong, this wasn’t the first time someone had called him that with the amount of one night stands he had had and the paternity suits that had naturally followed. He had let Pepper deal with all that, because he was too sick of the simple word fatherhood, because fathers were dicks for all he cared, they always had been. Howard had never had been the dream dad in the story books that supported his children and went out of his way to spend time with him, and Tony had known for a long time that in Howard’s eyes he had always been a failed creation, maybe a prototype for a bigger project he had been planning and just incomplete, but definitely not enough to be his son. God knew how fucked up he had been when he had found that old tape of Howard during the Stark Expo, Howard telling him that he had the future of tech in his hands and he had the brains for it, his father for once saying that only Tony could do it. In the end, it had been Howard’s model for a new element that had saved Tony’s life, after he had given up on himself and his future, and god, Tony knew that Howard’s shade would always be following him.

 

Yes, he was grateful to Howard for giving him all the opportunities he had needed to make use of his intellect, and yes, he was grateful to him for leaving him Stark Industries and saving his ass. He was grateful to Howard for giving him the chance to live, and for having a part in Steve’s transformation that had allowed him to find the love of his life, but Tony would never forgive him for all those years of pure agony and disappointment. He would never forget Howard’s words, his sharp glares, his freezing cold attitude, or the years of self-loathing he had put him through. Howard had been the asshole of assholes, and had made Tony react very negatively to even the thought of fatherhood, possibly damned him to a life of loneliness if Steve hadn’t come along.

 

And god, it hit Tony in the face like a ton of bricks that he was doing exactly the same thing to Vision.

 

Biologically related or not, Vision had been considering him his father the whole time while Tony had been running and hiding because he was afraid of making mistakes and running from his decisions. And Tony had been ignoring him very obviously, locked up in his workshop like a little kid and just trying to forget that Vision existed like he knew Howard had done so many times.

 

His greatest fear was coming true. He was turning into his dad.

 

Tony didn’t even know what he was doing when he gently took the single rose in Vision’s hand and looked intently at it; possibly the most beautiful thing he had seen with its layers of delicate petals and striking red pigment. He didn’t know who it was that started it, but before he knew it, he was hugging Vision tightly as tears threatened to well in his eyes, whispering “thank you” into his ear, because god knew Vision wasn’t the only one that needed it. Tony needed to know just as much that it wasn’t too late, that he wouldn’t turn into Howard in Vision’s memory and rebuild whatever excuse of a relationship they had, because shit, what if he had already fucked up bad enough to never have the chance to go back?

 

They didn’t pull back for a while, but when they did, Vision was giving him the most adorable and innocent smile Tony had seen since a very long time, and Tony realized only after he did that JARVIS hadn’t gone anywhere, he had simply changed and evolved, that this was the same thing he had spent days and months and years developing and improving delicately, patiently, just like a child. Vision was what he had debated to create even when everyone had been opposed and distrustful of it, while Tony had believed him so easily and naturally, because it was JARVIS, his JARVIS, his child and friend and support, and my god, Tony had been such an asshole.

 

Because what was Vision if not a baby in an adult’s body? Granted, Steve and Thor had found themselves in the middle of a world they didn’t know, just like Vision had, but they had known real life, experienced childhood and all the phases required to step into adulthood. They had known what feelings were and how greatly they would affect people, and they had known how to recognize that. Tony, however much he had considered JARVIS his friend, had never been really sure if he had wired the concept of love into his code. Vision had come into the world with no idea at all of what being a human was, with no difference than a machine, and had seen Tony as a father figure to follow and imitate and _love_ , and Tony had gone and fucking pushed him away. How stupider could he get, _ugh_.

 

“Happy Father’s Day, Mr. Stark.”

 

“Please, call me T-“

 

“Oh, I see our friend Anthony has already received his gift!”

 

Thor’s booming laughter interrupted and effectively destroyed the perfectly feely moment they had been having, the bastard, and only then did he notice both Steve and Bruce next to Thor, making their way towards him and Vision. Each of them held a lily in one of their hands and oh, Tony thought, I’m not the only one, huh? Of course not, ~~JARVIS~~ Vision wouldn’t forget anyone, he mused dryly.

 

They spent the rest of the day being goofy and watching movies, all of them squashed next to one another in the sofa, and Tony was very adamant on teaching all three of the oblivious idiots what modern moviemaking was like, so Bruce took the liberty of making extra buttered popcorn. Tony would never admit it out loud, but this was possibly the greatest day he had had in a very long while, and the only father’s day he had actually celebrated.

 

With his family, nonetheless.

 

Vision informed all of them that he would have to take off when night came, pretty sadly too because god knew they had a few things to talk about with Tony, but he bid them goodbye. Tony gave him the most awkward hug in the history of hugging, and waved at Vision until he could no longer see him floating in the night sky. He and Steve withdrew to bed soon after that, without even a few words being exchanged, and Tony dug up a very nice vase for both their flowers to rest inside before getting in bed. Steve put his book away, looked at Tony and smiled, and Tony knew just where he was getting at.

 

“I’m so proud of you.”

 

Damn Tony if that didn’t make him feel good, but he wasn’t drunk enough to say that. It was as if a dam had broken in his head as Steve said those words, and all his fears and thoughts and emotions came oozing out before he could control it.

 

“Yeah, yeah. He got me a flower Steve, god, and he smiled so sweetly, and I’ve been a complete asshole the whole time and-“

 

“Shh.”

 

Steve stroked his hand gently, looking in his eyes and smiling that reassuring smile that made everyone follow him so unconditionally, and what could a man do but just stop and stare at the perfection that was him?

 

“You did a great job.”

 

And Tony smiled too, because he knew that Steve was right, that he had at least taken a step, and while that had been miles away from it before, it didn’t seem so distant to interact with Vision anymore. Tony was almost sure he desperately wanted it.

 

He snuggled against Steve’s chest, letting out a content sigh, because it felt so right and good, and suddenly he could imagine a little Steve running around, protecting his little sibling from bullies, their bed filled with their children at night as they needed the comfort, the breakfasts and the family photos, and god, Tony hadn’t known that he had needed this in his life this much or for such a long time.

 

“You know,” Steve started, just before Tony peacefully drifted off to sleep,

 

“Your flower was special. _You_ are special.”

 

He smiled as sleep claimed him. He knew that they would never truly be a family with Vision, that he could never be a parent to a being that had been born in the body of an adult and a mind well past the boundaries of a human’s, that he’d never get to experience the graduations or the awkward arguments with him, but he was content with what he had. And one day, maybe a day not so far away, Steve and he could have their perfect little family, surrounded by all the Avengers and the deepest, sincerest feelings both of them had to offer.

 

Yeah, he could live with that.


End file.
